A star has arisen on the European Tour. For Martin Kaymer, 23, golf should not be quite so difficult from now on, not after he led the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship from start to finish to propel himself towards the Europe Ryder Cup team and become the youngest tour winner from Germany - younger by 14 days than the incomparable Bernhard Langer was at the time of his first victory.

If - or rather when – the reaction hits Kaymer and he starts to doubt his own abilities, he can remind himself that in four startling days in January 2008 he, a professional in only his second season on the European Tour, won a high-quality tournament on a difficult golf course, beating eight of the world’s leading 23 golfers. It is the stuff of fairytales and will be priceless in terms of the boost to his confidence.

Kaymer led by one stroke after the first round, extending his lead to six strokes after two rounds and keeping that margin after 54 holes. After that the pressure was really on.

Just as the professionals say that the hardest shot in golf is a long bunker shot, so they also say how hard it is to defend a lead. Though Kaymer’s advantage was down to two strokes for some of the last nine holes, he had a birdie on the 72nd to finish on 15 under par, four strokes ahead of Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson, two Ryder Cup veterans.

After that there arose a feeling that a special talent had arrived. If it was premature to be talking to Kaymer about this year’s Ryder Cup at the end of his first round, then it got less and less so as the event went on. His exact position in the world rankings will not be known until this morning but he has climbed from 76th to somewhere in the low thirties. He is now ninth in the European Ryder Cup points list.

“I learnt a lot about myself today,” Kaymer said. “I have gained confidence for tournaments when I am playing with better players. And I learnt that if you try to make pars, you will occasionally get a birdie. Whatever you do, avoid bogeys. It was tough for me to remember this but I did.”

The things Kaymer’s fellow professionals were saying about him would have made his ears burn. “He looks a real talent,” Westwood said. “I haven’t played with him but I have seen him on the practice ground and he is technically very correct.”

Darren Clarke, after hearing of Kaymer’s 65 on Friday, the day’s best by three strokes, said: “That is sensational golf. I can’t praise it highly enough. This course is tough. He must be a very, very good player.”

Confirmation of just how good he is came yesterday afternoon when he saw that Westwood had started with two birdies to close to within six strokes, after which Kaymer dropped strokes at each of the 4th, 5th and 6th. Again and again, though, throughout a long, demanding afternoon he remembered he had to be patient and stick to his game plan. The last words his girlfriend said to him before he started were wise: “If you win, that’s nice, but if you don’t it, doesn’t matter.”

There was no surprise that a young man so inexperienced at this level should feel nervous yesterday. The swing that had seemed so firm and rhythmical before now looked slightly hurried. Occasionally he finished off-balance. Kaymer’s nerves were causing him to swing more quickly than usual and, as a result, he hit several inaccurate tee shots. By the time Kaymer left the 12th he was two over par for the day and leading by only two strokes.

Then came his worst moment. Up ahead, Westwood faced a 12-foot putt on the 13th. Had he holed it, the Englishman would have got to within one.

But if Kaymer wobbled at the start, he was strong at the end, playing his last nine holes in one under par. Justin Grenfell-Hoyle, his caddie, was reassuring at moments of crisis and Marcel Siem, who was knocked out of the event on Friday night, walked most of the round outside the ropes, helping to reassure his countryman.

If Kaymer learnt a lot about himself yesterday, we have also learnt a lot about a very promising player indeed.

Leading final scores

Great Britain and Ireland unless stated

273: M Kaymer (Ger) 66, 65, 68, 74. 277: L Westwood 69, 73, 65, 70; H Stenson (Swe) 67, 70, 69, 71. 278: R Finch 71, 70, 69, 68; I Garrido (Sp) 69, 70, 70, 69; P Hedblom (Swe) 69, 70, 69, 70. 279: J Kingston (SA) 71, 68, 72, 68; S Strange (Aus) 72, 71, 66, 70. 280: I Poulter 70, 70, 73, 67; P McGinley 72, 71, 66, 71. 281: R Karlsson (Swe) 68, 72, 70, 71; R McIlroy 73, 71, 69, 68; A Noren (Swe) 70, 72, 69, 70; L Donald 71, 73, 67, 70; O Fisher 72, 71, 69, 69; P Harrington 72, 72, 69, 68. 282: A Wall 71, 69, 65, 77; S Webster 70, 68, 71, 73; R Green (Aus) 75, 68, 73, 66; R González (Arg) 71, 70, 72, 69; Peter Lawrie 73, 70, 70, 69; A Quiros (Sp) 73, 69, 68, 72. 283: A Scott (Aus) 68, 74, 71, 70; C Montgomerie 72, 72, 68, 71; J Donaldson 70, 71, 71, 71; M Lafeber (Neth) 74, 69, 68, 72; S Dyson 73, 71, 68, 71; T Levet (Fr) 70, 72, 68, 73; A McLardy (SA) 71, 72, 69, 71. 284: D Vancsik (Arg) 71, 71, 73, 69; L Westerberg (Swe) 72, 73, 69, 70; Paul Lawrie 70, 73, 71, 70; P Archer 71, 68, 73, 72. 285: C Schwartzel (SA) 70, 70, 72, 73; S Hansen (Den) 71, 71, 74, 69; M Foster 70, 70, 69, 76; T Jaidee (Thai) 71, 74, 68, 72; P Sheehan (Aus) 73, 72, 70, 70. 286: F Molinari (It) 73, 71, 71, 71; M Ilonen (Fin) 70, 74, 70, 72; R Davies 73, 71, 72, 70; J Bickerton 71, 70, 71, 74. 287: P Hanson (Swe) 74, 70, 69, 74; M Á Jiménez (Sp) 74, 69, 73, 71; G Fernández-Castaño (Sp) 70, 68, 76, 73; Sam Little 75, 69, 71, 72; P Broadhurst 72, 72, 68, 75; J Edfors (Swe) 73, 71, 70, 73; F Andersson Hed (Swe) 71, 72, 73, 71.